I remember sitting in second grade and talking to my friends about graduating. It seemed so far away. Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I was graduating from high school. Thoughts of graduating from college started coming to mind and that seemed like light years away. OK, it was only four, but it seemed like it would never get here. Now it seems almost like a joke to think I am really leaving my comfortable college life behind. I’ve become accustomed to going to class, going to work and going out with my friends whenever I wanted to. It doesn’t seem like long ago I was sitting on the playground with my friends and talking about my future. I guess being scared of the unknown is to be expected in this situation. I have never had to rely solely on the knowledge I learned in school. I’ve always had someone there looking over my shoulder telling me if I was doing something right or not. Not anymore--I am entirely on my own. Makes you wish you would’ve paid a little more attention in your classes, doesn’t it? I never thought these were the feelings I would be having about graduating. I always assumed this would be the single absolute greatest day of my life. What could be better than finally being done with school forever? I realize now that graduation isn’t the biggest or most important day of our lives. It’s how we decide to live every day after graduation that is the biggest most important moment of our lives. It’s what we make of ourselves and how we use the education we’ve worked so hard to earn. We can only be successful if we make ourselves happy every single day no matter how bad things may get. By this time hopefully we’ve figured out that life isn’t about who we know and who we’ve dated. It isn’t about what we wore or where we hung out. Life is about who we are and what we do to make the world a little better than it was before. Life is about helping others and doing things to make others happy. The unknown has so many possibilities for each and every one of us. So many people say graduation is only the beginning of our lives. I really don’t agree with that. It is the end of a very vital part of our lives. What we did while we were in college will influence each and every day of our lives. No more skipping class because you’re hung over from the night before. No more excuses of why you don’t have your homework. No more mom and dad to take care of you. We are officially independent adults and the best we can hope for is to make those who helped get us here and ourselves proud of what we have become. To all the graduates, CONGRATULATIONS! Take with you what you’ve learned and cherish the wonderful memories that you’ve made, but don’t hold them so tight you are scared to make new ones. Let me leave you with some thoughts from Dr. Seuss: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” And finally: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Simons, a senior mass communication major, hails from Petrolia, Texas.

“Pomp and Circumstance” rings in your ears, but you wish the noise was just a little change in your pocket instead. From test fees to cap and gown fees to application for graduate school fees, seniors who were responsible with their money up to this point are finding themselves frustrated and poor as they try to plan their lives after their bachelor’s degree. When MSU students reach the semester before their planned day of graduation, they need to apply, which costs $20. Once their graduation date is set, they need to purchase their cap, gown and tassel, which will put them back $37.50. Graduation announcements, if the student chooses to purchase them, cost about $60 for 25, plus the cost for postage. Then there is the class ring cost, if the student wants that type of momento, which can cost up to $500. Total so far: up to $617.50. But what will the graduating senior be doing after college? Once again, it’s time for them to spend even more money. There are application fees to apply to graduate school that run up to $100. So, if you apply to three schools that could cost $300. That’s a total of $917.50. Then there are the tests to get into graduate, law and medical schools. The GRE runs at $115, the LSAT at $108 and the MCAT at $185. So let’s assume you want to apply to graduate schools and a couple of law schools because you aren’t sure exactly what you want to do. That adds up to $223, bringing the grand total to $1,140.50. That’s not even including prep courses (an extra $300) and prep books (about $40). Talk about leaving college in debt. Throughout the last four years seniors have been hearing about how they should prepare for the future and plan ahead, but they were probably never notified that they should have set aside more than $1,100 just to get through graduation day and on to the next phase of their life. Seniors should be able to think about facing the real world, full of its bills and responsibilities, without having to take out a loan or max our their credit cards to get through their final year at college. Why do standardized tests cost so much money when they are computerized and scantron? Do slips of paper announcing graduation really need to cost $2.40 a pop? Why do some schools feel the need to charge $100 for application fees when schools, like MSU, are free to apply to? Entering the real world is difficult enough, but new graduates should not have to use their first month’s paycheck to pay off the debt accumulated from the glory of graduation.

-Lindsey Rich, Editor-in-Chief

We want to thank our staff and fellow editors for their hard work and dedication this year. Also, a very special thank you to our adviser Randy Pruitt for all of his encouragement, Greek food and sex talks. Thanks to all of our readers for their continued support. This has been an awesome learning experience that has had its ups and downs, lefts and rights, but we wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Good luck to Matt Terrell and Camron Rushin as they embark on a voyage they can only prepare for by just diving in and trying it out. When the stress gets bad enough you feel like jumping out of a window, remember: we are only a phone call away.

Lindsey Rich and Alexis Stoddard, Co-Editors

Joe Silva | The Wichitan